


Safe and Sound

by the_space_goddess_16



Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Short One Shot, Star Trek: AOS
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-22
Updated: 2017-07-22
Packaged: 2018-12-05 06:51:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,124
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11572677
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_space_goddess_16/pseuds/the_space_goddess_16
Summary: Just a little one-shot; Leonard has a nightmare and Jim is his usual sweetheart self.





	Safe and Sound

**Author's Note:**

> Hey all! This is just a little fluffy/angsty piece I threw together, let me know what you think! Thanks for reading!

Jim sighed and ran a hand down his face as he stepped into his quarters. It had been a particularly long day, and he was more than ready to snuggle up next to Leonard and pass out before his head hit the pillow. 

He flipped the light on and was surprised to see that Leonard was already in bed, curled up on his side with the blankets pulled in tight around himself, his back to the door. It must have been a long day for him too, then. Jim smiled at the sight of his peacefully sleeping boyfriend and started to pull off his uniform when he jumped at the sound of a small sob. 

“Bones?” he frowned, slowly approaching the bed. He could’ve sworn he was sleeping, but he couldn’t be sure without seeing his face. Jim wracked his brain for what could have possibly upset Leonard so much, but unless something had happened during his shift there was nothing to speak of. 

Leonard remained unresponsive, only curling into himself more and burrowing deeper into the pile of blankets. 

“Bones, what’s wrong?” Jim sat down next to him, putting a gentle hand on his back. He found that Leonard was, in fact, sleeping, as Jim had suspected, but his body was shaking under Jim’s touch. 

“Bones! Bones, wake up, it’s just a dream.” Jim gently shook him, all too familiar with the signs of another McCoy nightmare. “Come on, Bonesy, it’s me, it’s Jim, I’m right here, it’s alright.” Jim continued his efforts to wake him, feeling a wave of concern as Leonard remained stubbornly asleep. 

After several moments of Jim’s increasingly desperate shaking and prodding, Leonard sat up suddenly, his eyes snapping open. He searched around the room wildly, his face softening when he found Jim sitting next to him, his hands gripping Leonard’s shaking shoulders. 

“Jim?” Leonard whispered hoarsely, reaching up to touch Jim’s face. He brushed his fingers against Jim’s forehead like he was a piece of glass ready to break, his eyes clouded with confusion. “You can’t possibly…” Leonard’s breath caught, and once again his features were twisted in anguish and despair. 

“Get away from me,” he muttered darkly, shoving Jim away, “I know you’re not real. You can’t be real.” 

“Bones, what are you talking about?” Jim reached out for Leonard again, only to be batted away. 

“He’s dead, Leonard, he’s dead,” Leonard started to tremble more violently, curling into a ball and grabbing fistfuls of his own hair, the visions of Jim’s cold, lifeless body still burned into his memory. “He’s dead, it’s your own damn fault, no one to blame but yourself you stupid, fucking – “

“Leonard Horatio McCoy!” Jim grabbed Leonard’s wrists and yanked them towards himself, startling Bones out of his stupor. He stared at Jim blankly, trying to blink away his confusion. 

“Bones.” Jim said, more gently this time, moving to hold Leonard’s face. “Bones, please, it’s me. I’m here. No one is dying or dead or hurt, and it most certainly isn’t your fault.” 

Leonard froze, feeling the warmth from Jim’s hand’s seep into his skin and burn away the last of the fog clouding his mind.

“Is it really you?” Leonard’s voice cracked, tears falling freely onto Jim’s hands. He felt his mind start to break through the fog at the sound of Jim’s voice, trying to find the line between reality and fiction, brushing Jim’s arm with his fingers before tentatively squeezing his shoulder. “Are you… here?” 

“Of course, Bones. I’ll always be here.” Jim pulled Leonard into a tight embrace, running his hands through disheveled hair. 

Leonard cried quietly into Jim’s shoulder, overwhelmed with relief. Jim was Leonard’s sun, pushing away the cold fingers of guilt and fear that had clawed their way into Leonard’s heart. He made the constant darkness of space bearable and the longest night seem like the brightest day, and Leonard simply could no longer imagine his life without the light of Jim Kirk in it. 

“Fuck, Jim, I thought I had lost you.” Leonard’s muffled voice sighed into Jim’s chest after a few moments. He pulled back slightly from Jim to brusquely wipe away the last of his tears, dragging in a deep breath. He never took his gaze from Jim and kept his grip tight on his arms, still afraid he might slip away somehow. 

“What did you see, Bonesy?” Jim grabbed Leonard’s hands, holding them with his own and absentmindedly tracing patterns on Leonard’s palms. Leonard was silent, staring down at his hands and fidgeting anxiously. 

“It’s okay if you don’t want to talk about it,” he backtracked, not wanting to overstep his bounds. It had only been a few months since he and Leonard had officially started dating, and while they each had their own fair share of nightmares there had never been anything like this before. “I only meant – “ 

“Remember when I told you about my father?” Leonard stared intensely at Jim, never breaking eye contact.

Jim nodded slowly, waiting for him to continue. 

“It was like that. It was like watching him die, all over again. It was exactly the same, the lifeless body, the syringe in my hand, everything.” 

“Bones, you only did it because he was in pain and asked you to, you don’t have to keep feeling guilty. You couldn’t have known they’d find a cure,” Jim frowned, “but I don’t know what that has to do with me, Bones.”

“It wasn’t him, Jim,” Leonard’s fingernails dug into Jim’s hands, his eyes widening, “It was you.” 

Jim felt his breath catch as everything clicked into place. “God, Bones. I’m so sorry.” Jim grabbed the back of Leonard’s neck and pulled him closer, touching their foreheads together. 

“Not your fault.” Leonard closed his eyes, melting into Jim’s touch. “I’m sorry I’m so damn high-maintenance.”

Jim snorted, “Bones, you’re probably one of the least high-maintenance people I know. I think I can handle a few nightmares every so often.” 

Leonard grumbled and rolled his eyes in mocking disdain. He shook his head but didn’t hesitate to reach out to pull Jim down onto the bed next to him, wrapping his arms around Jim’s waist and nuzzling into his neck. 

“You feelin’ better?” Jim rubbed Leonard’s back in slow circles, pressing a kiss to his forehead. Leonard nodded and gave Jim a gentle squeeze. 

“I love you, darlin’.” Leonard hummed his thankfulness into Jim’s warmth as he drifted off into a more peaceful slumber. 

Jim smiled at how vulnerable Leonard looked snuggled up next to him, filled to bursting with affection for his grumpy southern doctor. He closed his eyes and rested his head on top of Leonard’s hair.

“I love you too, Bones. More than you could ever know.”


End file.
